Innovative Treatments to Control and Identify Severe Asthma

ATHENS, Greece, November 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Two new studies may have found new ways to control and identify severe asthma.

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Reduce exacerbation rates

Exacerbations constitute the greatest immediate risk to asthmatic patients.^[1] An observational trial at Ruhr University Bochum (Germany) showed that purifying the air in the breathing zone at night using a temperature-controlled laminar airflow (TLA) device, in addition to the patients' regular medication, significantly reduced the risk of exacerbations and the use of hospital resources in disease worsening.

"Nocturnal laminar airflow adds an alternative for patients with a poorly controlled asthma in spite of high pharmacological treatment level and enables an important option for effective domestic exposure control that historically has not been possible (Cochrane reviews). Add-on therapy with TLA may improve patients' quality of life without adding pharmacological side effects," highlights Prof. Eckard Hamelmann, Director of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Bethel and Speaker of the Allergy Center at the Ruhr-University Bochum. 

Uncontrolled asthma in children 

Some children have uncontrolled asthma despite being current users of inhaled corticosteroids. A team of Dutch researchers coordinated by Dr. Susanne Vijverberg,a pharmaceutical researcherat Utrecht University, found that this particular group of patients can be identified by measuring the volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath (the so-called breathprint), which is a novel non-invasive approach to studying the molecular signatures of respiratory disease.

"Health care professionals have been searching for a clinically applicable non-invasive read-out system to identify different asthma phenotypes and guide treatment. The non-invasive character of such a system is especially important for children. Analysis of exhaled breath using electronic noses is non-invasive and might be a promising clinically applicable tool to guide treatment," says Dr. Vijverberg.

Second International Severe Asthma Forum (ISAF) 

Both studies will be presented at the International Severe Asthma Forum, ISAF 2014, organised by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), which will bring together more than 200 researchers and clinicians in Athens on 13 - 15 November.

Asthma is a global health problem resulting in approximately 250,000 deaths per year, many from severe asthma. Severe asthmatics (5-10% of all patients) are 15 times more likely to use emergency services and 20 times more likely to be admitted to hospital.

More information: http://www.eaaci-isaf.org

REFERENCE 

1. Global Atlas of Asthma. European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI). 2013

CONTACT 

Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Ana Sánchez
ana.sanchez@hkstrategies.com
+34-93-410-82-63